Collapsible clothes dryer



1957 c. c. GIBSON ETAL 2,814,391

. COLLAPSIBLE CLOTHES DRYER Filed Jan. 24, 1956 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR- COL/N C. G/BSON y WILLARD A. SPIN/(5 A TTORNEYS Nov. 26, 1957 c.-c. GIBSON ETAL 2,8 4,

COLLAPSIBLE CLQTHES DRYER Filed Jan. 24, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .HVVENTOR. I .vcou/v c. GIBSON B1 WILLARD ASP/IVKS A T TORNEVS United rates Patent C) COLLAPSIBLE CLOTHES DRYER Colin C. Gibson, Piedmont, and Willard A. Spinks,

' Oakland, Calif.; said Spinlrs assignor to said Gibson Application January 24, 1956, Serial No. 560,992

8 Claims. (Cl. 21l178) This invention relates to a collapsible clothes dryer and has for one of its objects the provision of a clothes dryer of the type having flexible lines for suspension of the clothing therefrom, and which. dryer is adapted to be quickly folded or collapsed from its set-up position to form a small, compact unit that may be easily stored in a small space or transported in a standard sized suitcase without occupying more than a fraction of the space in such suitcase.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a clothes dryer that is very light in weight yet strong and stable when set up for use, and which dryer is adapted to be quickly collapsed to form a compact unit, and thereafter set up again, without the use of telescopic members, bolts, screws, or other elements that are likely to be lost or damaged, or that require mechanical skill.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a collapsible clothes line dryer that comprises a pair of arms carrying a plurality of flexible clothes lines and a pair of legs, having foot members, while legs and arms are hingedly or pivotally connected at one of their ends to means that is adapted to support them at their pivoted ends for swinging from divergently extending positions at opposite sides of said means to parallel side by side relation (collapsed position) at one side of said means. When in said divergently extending position the dryer is in set-up position for use and means is carried by the dryer for releasably locking it in said set-up position, and the foot members are adapted to support the dryer on the bottom of a conventional bathtub or on a floor with the lines carried by the arms in relatively taut condition.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the description and in the drawings.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the dryer in position for use.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the dryer in collapsed position.

Fig. 3 is a reduced side elevational view of the dryer (minus the lines) illustrating the manner in which the dryer is collapsed from a set-up position.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side view as seen from line 44 of Fig. 1 showing the means for connecting one of the ends of the arms and legs of the dryer and the cooperative structural relationship between the ends of the arms and legs when the dryer is set up.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of the portion shown in Fig. 4 as seen from line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary View taken along line 66 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along line 77 of Fig. 1.

In detail, the dryer as illustrated in the drawings comprises an elongated hinge plate generally designated 1 which plate is generally U-shaped in cross-sectional contour between the end portions thereof, providing opposed sides 2 connected by wall 3 along one of their edges leaving an open side opposite to said wall 3 (Figs. v2, 4, 5).

The sides 2 are extended at their ends longitudinally of the hinge plate to provide a pair of opposed extensions 6 on said plate at each of its ends, which extensions project beyond the ends of the bottom wall 3.

A pair of tubular arms 7 of equal length extend at one of their ends between the sides 2 of the hinge plate through the open side of the latter (Fig. 4) and pivots 8 extend through said sides and said ends of said arms for pivotally securing the said arms to said plate. The axes of pivots 8 are parallel and normal to the sides 2 and they are at points equally spaced at opposite sides of a central point between the ends of the hinge plate.

A pair of tubular legs 10 is provided and one end of a leg of each pair extends between each pair of extensions 6. A pivot 11, having its axis parallel with the axes of pivots 8, pivotally secures said end of each leg between each pair of extensions 6. Each pivot 11 is preferably spaced from the adjacent pivot 8 a distance substantially equal to the spacing between pivots 8, and the pivots 8, 11 are aligned in a row extending longitudinally of the hinge plate.

The terminating ends 12 of legs 10 adjacent to the pivoted ends thereof are arcuately cut to conform to the cross-sectional curvature of the arms 7 (Fig. 5) so that the arms 7 when swung to positions extending divergently outwardly of the open side of the hinge plate will seat against the curved end edges of the legs 10 upon the legs 10 also being swung to divergently extending positions at the side of the hinge plate opposite to its open side (Figs. 1, 4) and to positions extending at right angles to the arms '7, in which positions the sides of legs 10 adjacent to pivots 11 will abut the end edges of the bottom wall 3 as seen in Fig. 4.

When the arms and legs are swung to divergently extending positions at opposite sides of the hinge plate 1, as seen in Fig. 4, the legs 10 will limit the swinging of the outer ends of arms 7 away from each other, and since the pivots 8, 11 are substantially equally spaced apart with the ends of legs 10 projecting equal distances past the pivots 11, the arms and legs, when in their divergently extending positions are symmetrical relative to a plane that is perpendicular to the length of the hinge plate and that bisects the hinge plate centrally between its ends.

A pair of tubular cross bars or members 14 of equal length provide the means for securing the flexible clothes lines 15 to the arms. Each cross bar 14 is secured centrally of its ends to the outer end of each arm 7. The terminating outer ends of arms 7 are cut to conform to the cross-sectional curvature of the cross bars 14 so that the latter will snugly seat against said outer ends, and any suitable means may be provided for securing said cross bars to said arms, one such means being later described more in detail.

Said tubular cross bars 14 are each formed with axially aligned perforations 16, 17 in opposite sides (Fig. 6) with the axis common to each pair of perforations extending substantially in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the arm carrying the bar. The pairs of perfora tions in each bar are equally spaced along the bars from points centrally between their ends, and each of the lines 15 extends at its ends through the pairs of openings 16, 17 that are opposite to each other in the pair of bars 14 on the ends of arms 7. These lines are preferably knotted at 18 at their ends so they will not pull through the openings 17 which are closest to each knot and at the side of each bar 14 that is opposite to each arm 7.

Lines 15 are of equal length and when the end portions releasably holdsthe said lines taut and holds the end I portions of arms 7 against the ends of legs 10, the result of which is that the legs 10 will also be held in divergently extending positions.

This brace 21 comprises a pair of links 22, 23. Each link is pivotally secured at one of its ends by a pivot 24 to each arm 7 at the same distance from the pivots 8, and said links lap each other in side by side relation at their outer ends that are opposite to pivots 24. One link is pivotally secured at its outer end at 25 to the other link so that an extension 26 of said other link extends past the pivot 25 in lapping relation to the adjacent link and complementarily formed projections on the lapping portions of the links engage one with the other to releasably hold the links substantially in alignment but with pivot 25 slightly to the side of the links nearest the hinge plate relative to a center line extending through pivots 24. This brace operates in substantially the same manner as the conventional articulated leg braces for the folding legs of card tables and provides a quick and simple means for holding the lines 15 relatively taut and for holding the device in set-up position against collapse.

The outer ends of legs 10 are provided with elongated foot members 29 that are of tubular material the same as cross bars 14, except that they are not perforated and are not necessarily as long as the cross bars 14.

Said foot members are each secured to the outer end of each leg 10 at a point centrally between the end of each foot member in the same manner as each cross bar 14 is. secured to each arm 7. The means illustrated for this purpose is a centrally apertured rivet 30 (Fig. 7) that extends through the outer end portion of each leg, and a metal screw 31 that centrally extends through each leg 29 and into the central aperture in each rivet. The material around the edge of the opening in the outermost side of each foot member is preferably countersunk as seen in Fig. 7 so that the head of the screw will be substantially flush with the outer surface of the foot member.

Plastic or rubber caps 32 are secured on the ends of foot members for engagement with the bottom of a bathtub or with the surface of the floor or other supporting surface when the dryer is set-up for use.

Any conventional plugs may be positioned in the ends of the cross members 14 if desired.

While not absolutely essential, it is desirable that a latch brace 33 releasably connect the legs 10 at points equally spaced below the hinge plate 1 when the, legs 10 are moved to divergently extending relation. This latch brace is pivoted at 34 at one end thereof to one of the legs 10 and is formed with a hook at the opposite end that is adapted to engage a headed pin 35 that is secured to the other leg 10. Gravity will hold the latch in locked position when the dryer is set-up, and when the latch brace is disconnected from the pin 35 the brace will swing to a position alongside leg 10 so it will be within the outline of the group of arms and legs as seen in Fig.2. The brace prevents any tendency of the legs to spring apartunder weight on the lines and it also eliminates any likelihood of the inner ends of legs 10 indenting the sides of the arms 7 where said legs engage said arms.

The alignment of the holes 16, 17 of each pair, with the hole 16 being positioned nearest the hinge plate, provides an arrangement that insures against a tendency of the cross bars to rotate when a load is placed on the lines. When such load is placed on lines 15 the latter will tend to sag to the dot-dash line position 15' thus producing a direct pull against the cross bar at the knot 18 which is very desirable as distinguished from the character of the force that would be applied were the openings 16, 17 in one cross bar aligned with the openings 16, 17 in the other cross bar.

In operation, when the dryer is in collapsed or folded position as seen in Fig. 2, the total overall length in an average size dryer having say six lines will be capable of fitting into a standard twenty-four inch suit case, yet the height of the lines above the surface supporting the dryer will be approximately thirty inches, and the length of each line as seen in Fig. 1 will be approximately thirty-six inches.

The arms and the legs are preferably of substantially the same length and these may be made longer or shorter according to whether the lines 15 are to be a greater or lesser distance above the ground. The cross bars for the lines may also be longer or shorter according to the number of lines desired, but normally the foot members 29 do not need to be quite as long as the cross bars 14.

In order to set up the device of Fig. 2, the latter may be held generally in the dash line position 40 (Fig. 3) and the legs 10 permitted to fall to their divergently extending full line positions while the arms 7 are moved to their full line positions. The brace 21 is then forced downwardly at their pivotally connected ends until the pivot 25 moves downwardly across a line extending between pivots 24 and at that time the device will be releasably held in set-up position, and to further secure the legs against possible springing apart and slippage of the foot members on the supporting surface, the latch bar 33 may be engaged with P To collapse the dryer, it is only necessary to release the latch 33, if it is connected, and to move the pivotally connected ends of links 22, 23 upwardly after which legs 10 will readily swing to positions alongside arms 7 and the latter will move to parallel side by side relation with the cross bars 14 and foot members 29 also in parallel side by side relation. The fact that the bottom 3 of the hinge plate extends across the ends of the arms 7 and that the ends of the legs are within the laterally projected confines of the hinge plates, protects other objects from being scratched or injured by the ends of the arms and legs as well as preventing injuring said ends.

It is to be understood that the detailed description of the dryer is not to be considered restrictive of the invention, but merely illustrative of a preferred form.

We claim:

1. A clothes dryer comprising: a hinge plate, a pair 1 of arms pivotally secured at one of their ends to said plate for swinging in one plane from positions extending divergently from said ends away from one side of said plate to positions in substantially parallel side by side relation, a pair of legs pivotally secured at one of their ends to said plate for swinging from positions extending divergently from said ends thereof in said plane away from the side of said plate opposite to the side to which said arms are adapted to be swung to positions in substantially parallel side by side relation to said arms when said arms are in their said parallel side by side relation, line carrying members secured to the ends of said arms remote from said plate and a plurality of spaced parallel clothes lines secured to and extending between said members, said clothes lines being relatively taut when said arms are in their said divergently extending positions, means for releasably holding said legs in said positions extending divergently from said ends thereof, and foot members secured to the ends of said legs remote from said plate for supporting said arms and legs in said divergently extending positions in a vertical plane.

2. A clothes dryer comprising: a hinge plate, a pair of arms pivotally secured at one of their ends to said plate for swinging in one plane from positions extending divergently from said ends away from one side of said plate to positions in substantially parallel side by side relation, a pair of legs pivotally secured at one of their ends to said plate for swinging from positions extending divergently from said ends thereof in said plane away from the side of said plate opposite to the side to which said arms are adapted to be swung to positions in substantially parallel side by side relation to said arms when said arms are in their said parallel side by side relation, line carrying members secured to the ends of said arms remote from said plate and a plurality of spaced parallel gelatin clothes lines secured to and extending between said members, said clothes lines being relatively taut when said arms are in their said divergently extending positions, and foot members secured to the ends of said legs remote from said plate for supporting said arms and legs in said divergently extending positions in a vertical plane, the terminating end surfaces of said legs at said plate and one of theside surfaces of the end portions of said arms that are adjacent to said plate being in cooperatively engaging relation for limiting the movement of other ends of said arms and legs apart when said arms and legs are in said divergently extending relation, and means carried by said arms releasably locking them in their said divergently extending relation.

3. A clothes dryer comprising: a hinge plate, a pair of arms pivotally secured at one of their ends to said plate for swinging in one plane from positions extending divergently from said ends away from one side of said plate to positions in substantially parallel side by side relation, a pair of legs pivotally secured at one of their ends to said plate for swinging from positions extending divergently from said ends thereof in said plane away from the side of said plate opposite to the side to which said arms are adapted to be swung to positions in substantially parallel side by side relation to said arms when said arms are in their said parallel side by side relation, line carrying members secured to the ends of said arms remote from said plate and a plurality of spaced parallel clothes lines secured to and extending between said members, said clothes lines being relatively taut when said arms are in their said divergently extending positions, means for releasably holding said legs in said positions extending divergently from said ends thereof, and foot members secured to the ends of said legs remote from said plate for supporting said arms and legs in said divergently extending positions in a vertical plane, said line carrying members and said foot members being bars extending at right angles to the arms and legs to which they are secured, and substantially parallel to each other and being positioned in parallel side by side relation when said arms and said legs are in parallel side by side relation.

4. A clothes line dryer comprising: an elongated hinge plate of substantially U-shaped cross-sectional contour along the central portion intermediate the ends thereof and the sides of said U-shaped hinge plate being extended at opposite ends of said plate to provide a pair of opposed end portions at the ends of said plate, a pair of arms having one of their ends disposed between the opposite sides of said central portion and extending outwardly of the open side of said plate, means pivotally securing said ends of said arms between said opposite sides of said U-shaped central portion, a pair of legs having one of their ends disposed between each pair of said extensions, means pivotally securing said ends of said legs between said extension for swinging from positions alongside said arms and at the open side of said plate to positions extending divergently from their pivoted ends to the opposite side of said plate and said arms being swingable about their pivoted ends to divergently extending relation from said ends and across and in engagement with the terminating ends of said legs that are adjacent to said pivots, means for releasably locking said arms and for releasably holding said legs respectively in their said divergently extending relation, foot members on the ends of said legs that are opposite to the ends thereof that are between said extensions for supporting said legs and arms in a vertical plane with said legs lowermost when said legs are in their divergently extending positions and means carried by the ends of said arms that are remote from said plate for supporting a plurality of flexible clothes lines extending between said last mentioned ends, and a plurality of flexible clothes lines secured to said last mentioned means.

5. A clothes line dryer comprising: an elongated hinge plate of substantially U-shaped cross-sectional contour d along the central portion intermediate the ends thereof and the sides of said U-shaped hinge plate being extended at opposite ends of said plate to provide a pair of opposed end portions at the ends of said plate, a pair of arms having one of their ends disposed between the opposite sides of said central portion and extending outwardly of the open side of said plate, means pivotally securing said ends of said arms between said opposite sides of said U-shaped central portion, a pair of legs having one of their ends disposed between each pair of said extensions, means pivotally securing said ends oi. said legs between said extension for swinging from positions alongside said arms and at the open side of said plate to positions extending divergently from their pivoted ends to the opposite side of said plate and said arms being swingable about their pivoted ends to divergently extending relation from said ends and across and in engagement with the terminating ends of said legs that are adjacent to said pivots, means for releasably locking said arms and for releasably holding said legs respectively in their said divergently extending relation, foot members on the ends of said legs that are opposite to the ends thereof that are between said extensions for supporting said legs and arms in a vertical plane with said legs lowermost when said legs are in their divergently extending positions and means carried by the ends of said arms that are remote from said plate for supporting a plurality of flexible clothes lines extending between said last mentioned ends, and a plurality of flexible clothes lines secured to said last mentioned means, said arms and said legs being cylindrical, tubular members and the ends of said legs that are in engagement with said arms when said arms and said legs are in positions extending divergently from said plate being recessed complementarily of the crosssectional contour of said arms for receiving said arms in the recesses in said ends of said legs.

6. A clothes line dryer comprising: an elongated hinge plate of substantially U-shaped cross-sectional contour along the central portion intermediate the ends thereof and the sides of said U-shaped hinge plate being extended at opposite ends of said plate to provide a pair of opposed end portions at the ends of said plate, a pair of arms having one of their ends disposed between the opposite sides of said central portion and extending outwardly of the open side of said plate, means pivotally securing said ends of said arms between said opposite sides of said Ushaped central portion, a pair of legs having one of their ends disposed between each pair of said extensions, means pivotally securing said ends of said legs between said extension for swinging from positions alongside said arms and at the open side of said plate to positions extending divergently from their pivoted ends to the opposite side of said plate and said arms being swingable about their pivoted ends to divergently extending relation from said ends and across and in engagement with the terminating ends of said legs that are adjacent to said pivots, means for releasably locking said arms and for releasably holding said legs respectively in their said divergently extending relation, foot members on the ends of said legs that are opposite to the ends thereof that are between said extensions for supporting said legs and arms in a vertical plane with said legs lowermost when said legs are in their divergently extending positions and means carried by the ends of said arms that are remote from said plate for supporting a plurality of flexible clothes lines extending between said last mentioned ends, and a plurality of flexible clothes lines secured to said last mentioned means, the pivoted ends of said arms being between the pivoted ends of said legs and the pivots for the said ends of said arms and legs being aligned longitudinally of said plate and supporting said arms and legs for swinging about parallel axes, the closed side of said U-shaped plate opposite to its open side extending over the ends of said arms that are 7 pivoted to said plate to cover the said last mentioned ends at all times.

7. A clothes line dryer comprising: an elongated hinge plate of substantially U-shaped cross-sectional contour along the, central portion intermediate the ends thereof and the sides of said U-shaped hinge plate being extended at opposite ends of said plate to provide a pair of opposed end portions at the ends of said plate, a pair of arms having one of their ends disposed between the opposite sides of said central portion and extending outwardly of the open side of said plate, means pivotally securing said ends of said arms between said opposite sides of said U-shaped central portion, a pair of legs having one of their ends disposed between each pair of said extensions, means pivotally securing said ends of said legs between said extension for swinging from positions alongside said arms and at the open side of said plate to positions extending divergently from their pivoted ends to the opposite side of said plate and said arms being swingable about their pivoted ends to divergently extending relation from said ends and across and in engagement with the terminating ends of said legs that are adjacent to said pivots, means for releasably locking said arms in their said divergently extending relation, means for releasably holding said legs in said positions extending divergently from their pivoted ends, and means carried by the ends of said arms that are remote from said plate for supporting a plurality of flexible clothes lines extending between said last mentioned ends, and

a plurality of flexible clothes lines secured to said last trally of their ends to the ends of said legs that are remote from said plate and at right angles to said legs, said cross bars and'said foot members respectively extending across the terminating outer end surfaces of said arms and said legs and being in parallel side by side relation when said legs are swung from their divergently extending positions to the same side of said plate as said arms.

8. A clothes dryer comprising: a pair of straight, elongated arms extending divergently from one another and a pair of straight, elongated legs also extending divergently from each other, means at the convergent ends of said arms and said legs pivotally supporting said arms and legs for swinging in a common plane from said divergently extending positions to substantially parallel side by side engaging relation in one row with said means connecting them at their pivoted ends, locking means respectively carried by said legs releasably locking said legs in their said divergently extending position and means carried by said arms releasably locking them in their said divergently extending position, foot members on the divergent ends of said pair of legs for supporting said arms and said legs in a vertical plane with the divergent ends of said pair of arms uppermost, supporting means on the divergent ends of said pair of arms for supporting a plurality of parallel lengths of clothes line extending horizontally between said supporting means and a plurality of said lengths of clothes line extending between said supporting means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 240,739 Lohges Apr. 26, 1881 1,018,729 Sine Feb. 27, 1912 1,662,586 Newman Mar. 13, 1928 1,720,762 Shipway July 16, 1929 2,406,638 Schissell Aug. 27, 1946 2,557,766 Ronfeldt June 19, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 806,895 Germany June 21, 1951 

